Distillery: Wild Turkey
Proof: 90
Age: 10 Years
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
BACKGROUND: The Russell's Reserve line is produced by Wild Turkey Distillery. It is named in honor of Jimmy and Eddie Russell who are father and son and have been the master distillers at Wild Turkey with a combined tenure of over 100 years. Russell's Reserve 10 year is a small batch bourbon that is comprised of barrels aged for at least 10 years but possible longer using the standard Wild Turkey mashbill.
NOSE: Russell's Reserve 10 Year has a really nice nose. As soon as you take a sniff you're treated by scents of graham cracker, honey, vanilla, caramel, and char. There is a slight ethanol burn on the back-end of the nose too. It has a surprisingly rich nose for a low proof whiskey. (21/25)
PALATE: As soon as Russell's Reserve touched our tongue we were welcomed by with sweet notes of caramel and vanilla that was followed by some rye spice tingle and citrus notes. The sweetness gives it a light freshness that makes you feel like you’re eating some fresh caramel drizzle. Russell's Reserve 10 year does have quite a light feel to it due to the low proof and the flavors are not overly complex. It is well balanced though and there is no burn. (33/40)
FINISH: Rye spice dominates the finish but it carries with it some tasty notes of slight barrel char, leather, and homemade s'mores. Yes s'mores, we tasted a nice medley of marshmellow, some honey, char, and graham cracker on the finish. (22/25)
VALUE: Russell's Reserve 10 year carries an SRP of $38 which is incredible when considering it is a 10 year old age stated whiskey that has incredible flavors. It is readily available at most liquor stores and you should pick yourself up a bottle. (9/10)
Overall: 85/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: Russell's Reserve is a fantastic daily drinker. It is priced perfectly and has fantastic flavors. This Bourbon is excellent for anyone who has always been a whiskey drinker or is new to whiskey. You can never go wrong buying yourself a bottle of this. We tried this blind with Master's Keep Decades and it held its own. We think this is way better than Eagle Rare for those of you always hunting the Eagle.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7 Year
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Henry McKenna 10 Year
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Eagle Rare
Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Bear perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea\
